Rural Knowledge Center

Rural Resources, Insights, and Collaborations by Aspen CSG and Partners

Funding Rural Futures: Call to Action

What it will take to make more flexible and responsive funding available to organizations serving low-income and persistent poverty rural regions?

Community and Economic Development Topics

Product Type

Resource Type

Blog
Image of man selling produce at farmer's market
A Thrive Rural Reflection: Assets at the Local and Systems levels

Many resources center asset-framing as primarily a household-level and local issue. But what is the systems-level responsibility for acting on assets?

Blog
Three women talk during a conference
Learning Through Convening: Top Conferences for Rural Prosperity

Check out some top conferences focused on advancing equitable rural prosperity.

Event
Black hikers setting up camping gear
Ensuring Rural Communities Welcome Everyone

Dec. 9th, 2022, 1PM

How can we work to ensure that each and every person is welcomed to the community, feels connected, and is able to exercise and influence power in community decision-making?

Tool
Transforming Coal Country in Shamokin, Pennsylvania

Brookings Institution

In a podcast episode, Brookings Senior Fellow Tony Pipa visits a former coal town on its way to becoming an outdoor recreation destination after decades of decline. He learns how mine remediation projects are helping spur community renewal from the local leaders who are helping inspire change.

Tool
Community Strategies Group Assessment Worksheet. What are top issues you are working with in your community? Which building blocks are connected to your issue at the local and systems level?
Thrive Rural Framework Assessment Worksheet

We have the opportunity to build thriving, prosperous, healthy rural communities and Native nations where each and every person belongs...

Blog
Photographer capturing pair of people walking along bare trees in winter
Ten Media Sources Focused on Rural Communities and Native Nations

Check out our roundup of ten media sources highlighting important issues about and to rural communities and Native nations.

Blog
Older adult woman standing and older adult man sitting next to snacks
What is the Community Prosperity Approach?

An equitable community prosperity approach seeks to improve health and economic outcomes for rural communities, not simply to preserve their current status.

Tool
Map of capacity in rural America
Rural Capacity Map

To help identify communities with limited capacity, Headwaters Economics created a new Rural Capacity Index.

Report
natural disaster report cover
Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: A Call to Action — Executive Summary

Executive Summary document for Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: A Call to Action. Get quick takeaways and recommendations for action.

Report
natural disaster report cover
Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: A Call to Action

Need actionable steps in your equitable disaster preparedness or recovery work? This report highlights best practices from the field.

Blog
People stand in rural forest. Woman in pink vest has professional camera and records another woman and tree stumps.
Changing the Narrative: Building Trust Through Rural Media

Insights on how we can promote accurate rural narratives and increase local media to build trust and new relationships across geography.

Blog
Ensuring Health Equity for our Rural LGBTQ+ Neighbors

National Rural Health Association (NRHA)

NRHA’s report on rural LGBTQ+ health equity discusses the need for inclusive and affirming health care in rural areas, highlighting challenges like discrimination and lack of specialized care. It emphasizes education and support systems for health care providers to improve access and quality of care for rural LGBTQ+ communities.